Pobedonostsev K.P. (1827-1907), statesman

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POBEDONOSTSEV Konstantin Petrovich (1827-1907, St. Petersburg), statesman, lawyer, writer and translator, Full Privy Councilor (1883), Personal Secretary (1894). Graduated from the Jurisprudence College in St. Petersburg in 1846. Pobedonostsev served at the Senate and the Ministry of Justice, and taught at Moscow University (professor form 1860). From 1865, he was a resident of St. Petersburg, where he taught various members of the Imperial Family, including Grand Prince Alexander Alexandrovich (future Emperor Alexander III) and Tsesarevitch Nikolay Alexandrovich (future Emperor Nicholas II). He was appointed Senator in 1868 and a member of the State Assembly in 1872 then transferred to the positions of Chief Procurator of the Holy Synod, and a member of the Committee of Ministers in 1880-1905. In 1881, he opposed M.T. Loris-Melikov's proposed state reforms. In the early 1880s, Pobedonostsev exerted a remarkable influence on Emperor Alexander III, with whom he discussed public and private matters; he was an apologist and one of the principal inspirers of the so-called Counter-Reform Policy of the 1880-90s. His Administration of the Holy Synod led to a significant increase in the welfare of the Russian Orthodox Church and Orthodox clergy, enlivening missionary and educational activity. Nearly 250 new churches were opened in the country annually. On the other hand, Pobedonostsev opposed greater independence for the Church from the State; as for public education, he consistently pursued a policy of replacing secular primary schools (regional as well as municipal) with parish schools, and strived for tougher censorship over the periodical press. He was known as the extinguisher of education among liberals and radicals. Pobedonostsev wrote on issues of law and public education. He took part in the work of the Jurist Society of St. Petersburg University, the Russian Historical Society, the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society, and a number of other academic societies. In St. Petersburg, he lived in a Government building at 62 Liteiny Avenue. He was buried at the Church of the Presentation of the Virgin connected to the St. Vladimir Girls' Parish School.

Works: Memory Eternal: Memoirs of the Deceased. 2nd edition. Moscow, 1899.

References: К. П. Победоносцев: Pro et contra: Личность, обществ.-полит. деятельность и мировоззрение К. Победоносцева в оценке рус. мыслителей и исследователей: Антология. СПб., 1996. С. 387-415; Полунов А. Ю. Под властью обер-прокурора: Государство и церковь в эпоху Александра III. М., 1996; Тимошина Е. В. Политико-правовая идеология русского пореформенного консерватизма: К. П. Победоносцев. СПб., 2000; Byrnes R. F. Pobedonostsev: His Life and Thought. London, 1968.

D. N. Shilov. Alexander III, Emperor
Loris-Melikov Mikhail Tarielovich, Count
Nicholas II, Emperor
Pobedonostsev Konstantin Petrovich
Liteiny Ave/Saint Petersburg, city, house 62
Вечная память: Воспоминания о почивших. 2-е изд. М., 1899
Глинский Б.Б. Константин Петрович Победоносцев: (Материалы к биогр.) // К.П. Победоносцев: Pro et contra: Личность, обществ.-полит. деятельность и мировоззрение К. Победоносцева в оценке рус. мыслителей и исследователей: Антол. СПб., 1996
Byrnes R. F. Pobedonostsev: His Life and Thought. London, 1968
Полунов А. Ю. Под властью обер-прокурора: Государство и церковь в эпоху Александра III. М., 1996
Тимошина Е. В. Политико-правовая идеология русского пореформенного консерватизма: К. П. Победоносцев. СПб., 2000 Law School
Senate
Ministry of Justice
Ministry of Justice
State Assembly
Synod
State University, St. Petersburg
Russian Historical Society
Palestinian Society